Friday, January 19, 2018

PayPal Research: Philippines On Its Way To Be A Cashless Nation

A new research by PayPal indicates that the adaptation of digital payments is having a strong impact in a Filipino's financial status in business and personal.

PayPal Research: Philippines On Its Way To Be A Cashless Nation

PayPal conducted a study titled, "Digital Payments: Thinking Beyond Transactions", in which they surveyed 4,000 consumers and 1,400 merchants in different parts of Asia. It is worth to note that 500 consumers and 200 merchants of this sample pool is from the Philippines.

The results mainly state that the effect of digital payments is mainly positive as it reduces the inefficiencies and open up more economic opportunities.

Rahul Shinghal, PayPal’s General Manager for Southeast Asia, said this about the developments:

Transparent tracking of money flow, improved transaction efficiency, unlocking new business models and the creation of more economic channels are just a few ways digital payments drive economic opportunity for both consumers and businesses. As a global leader in digital payments, we will continue to deliver innovative products and services to help our customers unlock the economic potential that digital payments can enable.

For consumers, digital payments provide a more secure and convenient payment method. At least 25% of the Filipino consumer population are already considering cashless payment methods including credit cards, internet banking, and checks among others. In fact 1/3 of the consumers in the Philippines are using cashless methods.

In addition to convenience and security, consumers who use new cashless payment methods also get more promotional discounts and prices, which give them an edge over those who transact using cash or other traditional cashless methods. They also enjoy a simpler way of managing their finances, especially when it comes to paying bills.

Transactions can be easily tracked and payments can be made instantly when you use the new payment methods available.

Businesses, on the other hand, benefit from the new cashless methods on the merchant side of things. They reap the benefits of lower operational costs by utilizing the new market it opens like the social media platforms.

Social commerce or S-Commerce utilizes the continuous growth of the social media platforms as it becomes one of the biggest markets online. More and more merchants are using the social media platforms and they claim that it helped their financial management and business growth immensely.

Overall, digital payments will only be successful in the country if both the private sectors and the government accept that these methods are the future. It can be improved and be made more secure if we explore all the nooks and cranny of this technology.